Is This Thing On? – Film Review
by Frank L.

Director – Bradley Cooper
Writers – Bradley Cooper, Will Arnett, Mark Chappell, Based on a Story by John Bishop
Stars – Will Arnett, Laura Dern, Andra Day

Alex (Will Arnett) has left his 20-year-old marriage in the suburbs and is acclimatising to living a bachelor existence in Manhattan. He is not flush with cash, and in order to avoid paying an entrance fee into a comedy club, he signs up as a performer on an open mic night. He stumbles through a short, improvised set. He has no natural aptitude for it, but he returns again, and gradually stand-up comedy becomes the driving force in his new life. Meanwhile, his wife Tess (Laura Dern) is re-establishing her own identity. She had been an Olympic volleyball champion, but her career came to a halt when she became a mother of two boys. Now that she is single again, she wants to go into coaching volleyball, which she now pursues.

Alex and Tess are both now singles and are available for romantic encounters with a new partner. Inevitably, this happens to a certain extent, which creates further frictions. The storyline is thickened with several subsidiary characters, including Alex’s parents, Marilyn (Christine Ebersole) and Jan (Ciaran Hinds), and Alex’s best friend, with the surprising name of Balls (Bradley Cooper). This is a star-studded cast.

The principal story is that of Alex and his discovery of the world of stand-up comedy. He is totally absorbed by it. He is making a new life for himself. The world of Tess’s volleyball coaching career is secondary. Given that fact, Dern is impressive as Tess as she makes her new life. Arnett has a wonderful part as he portrays Alex’s total absorption into the world of stand-up comedy. Arnett and Dern make a fine recently divorced couple as each handles the challenges of the new reality in their respective lives.

Bradley Cooper plays the roles not only of director and actor but also co-writer. It follows his “A Star Is Born” 2018 and “Maestro” 2023. His many talents are on display here as well.

Obviously, there are moments of hilarity given the underlying story, but the comedy is not that dominant. We are absorbed into Alex’s new love affair with the world of stand-up comedy. It allows him to find a new purpose after the end of his marriage. It is that world which Cooper explores and does so in relation to the urban jungle that is New York. There are many aspects of this film to admire. However, despite the many strands to the plot, the whole seemed to be less than the sum of its parts, as it failed to come together into a compelling, cohesive film.